Convicted killer appeals home invasion sentence

By HEATHER NELLIS

Recorder News Staff

FONDA -- The Amsterdam man who faces life in prison after he was found guilty of murdering two people in 2012 intends to appeal an unrelated jury conviction and sentence in connection to a home invasion on Guy Park Avenue.

It says Ramos appeals to the Appellate Division's Third Department from the judgment and conviction imposed by Judge Felix Catena.

Catena on Feb. 5 sentenced Catena to 25 years in state prison, plus five years of post-release supervision. He was found guilty of first-degree burglary and first-degree robbery in an October jury trial.

Ramos and an accomplice broke into the back door of a Guy Park Avenue apartment around 2 a.m. on Nov. 29, 2011. Ramos brandished a knife, and the accomplice had a shotgun. The pair made off with $160 in cash, an X-Box 360 game console, and a wireless Internet router.

No one was stabbed with the aforementioned knife, nor was anyone shot, but one of the victims jumped through a first-floor window to escape, and now suffers visible facial scarring.

Dillon was assigned Ramos' counsel after he fired his previous attorney, James Tyner, just prior to sentencing in December 2012. It was then adjourned until January, and adjourned again because Ramos was facing a double murder trial.

A jury on Feb. 1 found Ramos guilty of stabbing William McDermott and Cheryl Goss to death in March 2012. He faces life in prison when he's sentenced March 20.

Ramos also faces charges in another home invasion case. He was arrested March 13, 2012 and charged with first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary in connection to an Oct. 28, 2011 incident at an East Main Street residence in the city.

A male and female victim reported two subjects forcefully entered their apartment displaying what appeared to be a handgun.

Police say Ramos and another man then stole cash and a laptop computer.

The male victim alleged he was pistol-whipped during the incident. He was reportedly treated at St. Mary's Hospital for minor injuries suffered during the struggle.

That case is pending in court.

Ramos is currently serving a three-year state prison term at the Elmira Correctional Facility, the sentence he was given after pleading guilty May 31, 2012, to third-degree criminal possession of stolen property. He took a pricey piece of construction equipment from a Locust Avenue residence in February 2012.